Information and Communication Technology Capabilities and Business Performance: The Case of Differences in the Czech Financial Sector and Lessons from Robotic Process Automation between 2015 and 2020

This paper analyzes the rapid onset of Robotic process automation (RPA) technologies in the Czech financial sector between 2015-2020. The development and experience from the “hype-and-fear” phase contributed to business process integration and technological spillovers are expected in the future. If ICT capabilities are the source of performance differences, then most likely candidates are inventory and finances business process integration and implemented Enterprise Resource Planning and Customer Relationship Management systems. The RPA should not be seen only as simple automation but as a complex instrument offering a lot of advantages with a focus on benefits for internal and external stakeholders. PURPOSE. The goal is to qualitatively analyze the experience with RPA implementation and quantitatively assess ICT capabilities via analysis of differences between various organizational ICT activities and types of companies in the Czech financial sector. DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH. The qualitative case study was performed in the bank ČSOB, a.s. in 2019, respondents, owners of processes in the final part of automation, were chosen randomly from different departments of the bank. Data for the quantitative part comes from the ICT survey (Czech Statistical Office), business performance dataset (EMIS) and a case study about ICT capability implementation. Differences are assessed and indirectly interpreted using goodness-of-fit approach. FINDINGS AND IMPLICATIONS. The results from the RPA case study revealed that the Czech financial sector is past the “hype and fear” phase and many companies focused on their return on investment and are beginning to focus more on other stakeholders. According to this development, the requirements and outputs are suggested in the phases of RPA implementation. The possible source of rofitability performance differences are integrated business processes. LIMITATIONS. Financial sector data are anonymized in ICT surveys and the measurement of the competitive advantage of ICT capabilities is only indirect. Qualitative approach is suggested with focus on technological efficiency measurement using data envelopment approach. ORIGINALITY. This paper provides an understanding of the strong experience in RPA in Czech financial sector. Certain initial setbacks in RPA are expected and this paper suggest to focus on knowledge management (lessons learned) and other requirements influencing the successful RPA prototyping and implementation process

Regional competitiveness: Latin America and the Caribbean

Regional Competitiveness can be defined as the region's potential in the long run enforce economically in competition with other regions while maintaining social cohesion and environmental sustainability. This ability is determined by many factors, such as innovation, technological progress, investment attractiveness, skills of the labor force, transportation infrastructure and quality of transport services, public sector efficiency and public security. These factors influence the resulting economic, social and environmental situation of the region. The authors have compared the competitiveness of Latin America and the Caribbean states. Indicators of GDP, unemployment rate, share of high-educated employees, the rate of migration, income, population, unemployment, delinquency, CO2 emissions were used for the evaluation. For the purposes of interpretation and due to imperfect data bases, small countries to 3 million are earmarked specifically together with the island states in the Antile states. Among the countries over 3 million inhabitants (the area of South America and Mexico) Mexico dominates, followed by Chile and Argentina. On the contrary, as the least competitive Colombia, Paraguay and Uruguay were evaluated. Mexico's dominance is mainly due to its position in the economic dimension. Mexico and Chile, by contrast, are better in environmental terms. The specific situation is in Bolivia, which reaches above the average in the social field (e.g. in the tertiary education) but lags in the economic sphere. Among the countries over 3 million inhabitants (the area of Central America) Costa Rica, Panama and Honduras show the best results. These countries have significant differences, and compared to countries located in the index below clearly have higher scores in the social field. Among the countries under 3 million inhabitants has the best positions St. Kitts and Nevis, followed by Cuba and the Bahamas. The problematic acquisition and data validation must be mentioned in the context of evaluation of these countries. The authors focused on selected factors of competitiveness rated best and worst of Latin American countries in the next section analysis. In this context, authors considered the economic liberalization, the role of technology in the economy, the position in international trade, education system, labor market and healthcare conditions, environment and transport infrastructure

Transport Policy as a Way to Strengthen Geostrategic Position – A Review of Vienna as a Centre of Air and High-Speed Rail Transport in Central Europe

Vienna’s geostrategic importance fluctuated through the ages because of the power clashes and subsequent political and socio-economic impacts on the population. This paper assesses its current position in a historical context and then focuses more on the socio-economic dimensions such as interconnectedness and other transport aspects of the geostrategic position. Air and environmentally friendlier modes of passenger transport like high-speed rail are considered and analysed in the European context. This paper also reviews the results and issues dealing with the development of the Vienna Airport and the progress of high-speed railway projects in the Central European Economies (CEEs) after the European Union’s enlargement in 2004. The results suggest that after a restoration period of Vienna’s geostrategic position between 1995–2005, there is currently only a moderate and slowly growing exercise of power, control or influence over the CEEs. The results suggest that there is competition from busier German hub airports as well as the growing importance of CEE airports in transit and growing passenger transport performance figures. The lack of environmentally friendly high-speed infrastructure as a viable option instead of the fastest air travel is preventing Vienna to strengthen its strategic position. Its strategic importance is highly affected by the underdeveloped transport networks in CEEs and the future development of the Vienna Airport as a major transport hub

Transfer of know-how to small and mid-size businesses in Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine. White paper: Georgia

The report summarizes the conditions of the small and medium size enterprises (SME) sector in Georgia, identiies main problems in their development and provides recommendations for further interventions based on the Czech experience, research of existing literature and own survey among SME stakeholders in Georgia. Georgia is a small open economy. Its structure has been changing during last decade dramatically what provides opportunities for start-up companies. The revealed comparative advantage is in mineral waters, nuts and wine, but the opportunity to export also encompass metals, electricity, chemicals, stone, glass and clothing. One of the fast growing industries is tourism. Exports have increased over the period, although Georgia remains to be a net importer. Geogia attracts relatively large amount of foreign direct investment (FDI), large share of FDI in lowed from the European Union (EU) countries. Georgia receives favourable evaluations of its business environment. It ranks high in indices of economic freedom and it is among the top countries with respect to ease of starting and doing business. [...

Počet patentových prihlášek a patentový poplatek u Evropského patentového úřadu

Vliv vysokého poplatku za udělení patentové ochrany u Evropského patentového úřadu. Přínosy a zkreslení, výhody a nevýhody drahé patentové procedury. Jiné formy ochrany duševního vlastnictví ve srovnání s patentovou procedurou. Metody třídění patentových přihlášek. Cenový a ekonomický pohled na rozdělení zemí EU25 podle počtu patentových přihlášek u Evropského patentového úřadu. Analýza vlivu obou efektů. Cenový pomocí CPLi, ekonomický pomocí PPS.Costs of obtaining and maintaining patents granted via European Patent Office are one of the highest on the world. Counts of European patent applications per million capita are markedly different in the EU25 during the years 1997 and 2001. Countries are segmented according to their economic development. Analysis deals with this segmentation and is also targeted on price effect, measured via CPLI (Comparative price level indices). Two indices will cover these effects. Economic effect measured via GDP in PPS per capita, clean up from Price effect. And Price effect measured via CPLI which is used for spatial comparisons of relative price levels in the EU25. Not only has the impact of price effect affected the counts of patent applications. The European patent procedure it self and other possibilities to protect invention together with price effect make up a complex mix, which prejudice the value of patent indicators which are based on European patent applications

The efficiency of public support of innovation activities of foreign-owned companies

The analysis aims at the different innovation activities of foreign-owned enterprises in the Czech economy. Data comes from the Czech Community Innovation Surveys of 2010, 2012, and 2014. This paper evaluates new-to-the-market innovation activities at the firm level. The analyzed sample consists of observations about innovators and companies that did not engage in new-to-the-market innovation activities in the last three years. This paper explores the relationship between public support and innovation activities of multinationals. The first results suggest public support (local government funds, national government funds, EU funds, EU Framework, and Horizon funds) is not always statistically significant in terms of R&D expenditures in comparison to unsupported firms. The additional contribution of public support for innovation output is again not always statistically significant. Results suggest that local government funds (grant projects) are beneficial for foreign-owned new-to-the-market innovators. Those local government funds are contributing both to innovation input (R&D expenditures) and innovation output (sales of innovated goods and services). Other public support variables indicate a crowding-out effect of private R&D&I investment. Globalization tendencies are supported by governments and future research should aim at a more complex analysis of multinationals’ behavior in this area

V&V a inovační aktivity firem v České republice

Tato práce zdůrazňuje úlohu inovačních aktivit firem v různých fázích inovačního procesu. Teoretický rámec práce je obohacen o kritickou rešerši inovačních faktorů, představuje model CDM pro české zpracovatelské odvětví a dále studii vlivu nadnárodních společností v období 1998-2010. Výsledky rešerše ukazují, že typická firma, která se rozhodla inovovat mezi lety 1986 a 2006 je velká firma a dále firmy působící na mezinárodních trzích. Nicméně menší inovátoři více investují do výzkumu a vývoje. Nebyl nalezen jednoznačný lineární vztah mezi velikostí a výstupními (inovace, produktivita) charakteristiky firmy. Spolupráce na projektech v oblasti výzkumu a vývoje zvýšily celkovou intenzitu inovací. Existují přesvědčivé důkazy, že veřejné financování nemělo jednoznačný vliv na výdaje na výzkum a vývoj a nemělo ani vliv na inovační výstup. Tento výstup, měřený tržbami z inovovaných výrobků a služeb ve vyjádření na zaměstnance, byl v průměru pozitivní determinantou produktivity práce. Nicméně, podrobná analýza naznačuje, že tento účinek byl přítomen pouze pro produktovou inovaci, nikoliv procesní. Další stať analyzuje čtyři české šetření o inovacích - CIS vlny (2001, 2003, 2006 a 2008) v CDM modelu, který popisuje vztah mezi výdaji na V&V, inovačním výstupem a produktivitou firmy. V porovnání s vyspělými zeměmi EU inovační elasticita přeměny inovačních vstupů na inovační výstupy kolem 10 % popisuje české firmy jako špatné inovátory. ČR byla až do roku 2006 považována za tranzitivní ekonomiku, a pozorovali jsme masivní příliv PZI. V analýze dat od roku 1998 sledujeme, že nadnárodní společnosti mají vyšší tržní podíl a jsou nezbytnou součástí ekonomiky. Nadnárodní společnosti se však méně rozhodují o inovacích (až o 11 % - 42 % menší pravděpodobnost dle období), ale jako inovátoři pak vydávají více na výzkum a vývoj a přivlastní si více tržeb ze svých inovačních projektů. Příliv přímých zahraničních investic, vstup nadnárodních firem, byla sama o sobě forma inovační vlny. Inovační výstup se zdá být důležitým faktorem pro zvýšení produktivity mezi malými a středními podniky v dlouhém období. Veřejná podpora nemá žádný vliv na inovační výstup. Nadnárodní společnosti nemají dlouhodobý dopad na tržní koncentraci. V období 2004-2010 měly tyto společnosti významně nižší produktivitu v letech hospodářské krize, což naznačuje možnou závislost na globálních hodnotových řetězcích. Je pozorován dlouhodobý i krátkodobý vztah mezi přímými zahraničními investicemi a reálným HDP.This thesis emphasizes the role of firms' innovation activities in different stages of a typical innovation process. The theoretical background is enriched by a review of innovation determinants, a CDM model and a case-study of multinationals. The review results suggest that, on average, the typical firm that engaged in innovation between 1986 and 2006 is a large firm competing in international markets. Smaller firms, however, invested more in R&D, and no linear relationship was found between firm size and output characteristics. Cooperation on R&D projects increased overall innovation intensity. There is strong evidence that public funding had an ambiguous effect on R&D spending and no effect on innovation output. This output measured by sales from innovated goods and services was, on average, a positive determinant of labour productivity; however, a detailed study suggests this effect was present only for product innovation. Then, four Czech CIS waves (2001, 2003, 2006, and 2008) were analysed in the CDM model that describes the link between R&D expenditure, innovation output, and productivity. The estimated low innovation input elasticity around 10% describes the Czech companies as poor innovators in the EU. This economy was a transition country until 2006, and we have observed a substantive FDI inflow since 1998. Multinationals have a higher sales share now and are an essential part of the economy. Multinationals engage less in innovation, but spend more on R&D and appropriate more from their innovation projects. The FDI inflow was a form of innovation wave. Innovation output is an important determinant for boosting productivity among SMEs. Public support had no effect on innovation output. Lastly, the case study showed that multinationals are more productive, pay higher wages and have no long run impact on market concentration. However, a detailed study reveals that multinationals slightly increased market concentration in the second period (2004-2010) in the short run and had significantly lower productivity in the years of economic crisis. A long term and short term relationship between FDI and real GDP is observed

Innovation activities of firms: the case of 8 cis waves in the Czech industry between 2001 and 2014

Eight Czech CIS waves between 2001-2014 were analyzed. An adjusted (incomplete) CDM model was used to estimate effects of characteristics of firms (firm size, government funding, market orientation, or foreign ownership) on the innovation process (decision to innovate, R&D intensity, sales from innovated goods). Public support had a very limited or even negative effect on innovation inputs and outputs. This analysis suggests that there is no relationship between R&D expenditures and sales of innovated goods. The coefficients are quite similar for new-to-the-market innovators and new-to-the-enterprise innovators. The orientation of the world market is a highly important factor of new-to-the-market innovators. The ability to capture sales of innovated goods is higher for smaller firms, but only for the new-to-the-firm innovators. The analysis also showed differences between innovators in service sector and manufacturing sector. Cooperation is a positive factor of innovation intensity in the manufacturing sector; however on average, there is zero effect of cooperation in the service sector. World market orientation is a key factor of service companies

Market Orientation and Marketing Innovation Activities in the Czech Manufacturing Sector

Market competition drives organizations to higher efficiency. This paper analyses the relationship between the prevailing organization’s market orientation and marketing innovation activities. The sample of organizations consists of business enterprises from the manufacturing sector in the Czech economy. Data come from the Community Innovation Survey in 2014 and are analyzed using the innovation process econometric modeling. This innovation survey covers the period of a 3 year J-curve of real GDP growth. Czechia is one of the most open economies in the world and has one of the largest shares of exports and imports to GDP. This paper evaluates four types of marketing innovation activities (design, pricing, placing and promotion methods) at the enterprise level as a factor of marketing capability. The analyzed sample consists of observations about new-to-the-market innovators and enterprises that did not engage in new-to-the-market innovation activities in the last three years. The second group are considered to be lower-level innovators, i.e., adaptors to technological change. This paper explores the relationship between local, national, European and World market orientation in addition to an enterprise’s marketing innovation activities. The results suggest that not all types of marketing innovations are dependent on market orientation, while some have indirect positive and negative effects. Feedback and the future effects of marketing innovation activities are present at the enterprise level. Results also suggest that the marketing innovations of innovators form the manufacturing sector while they are dependent upon the strategies of enterprises to enter new geographical markets and gain the motivation to unlock new (hidden) demand